World Youth Day 2027 to Make History in South Korea, First Ever in a Non-Christian Country

The next World Youth Day (WYD) will mark a historic milestone for the Catholic Church when it is held in Seoul, South Korea, from August 3 to 8, 2027, the first time this global gathering of Catholic youth will take place in a non-Christian country.

In an interview with Catholic News Agency (CNA) during the recent Jubilee of Youth in Rome, Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee, auxiliary bishop of Seoul and general coordinator of WYD 2027, emphasized the symbolic importance of the event.

“Korea is the first non-Christian country to host World Youth Day,” Bishop Lee said. “At the same time, it’s the only nation that is divided in two. So, the main theme should be peace, peace between religions, peace between two countries.”

“I want to see the young people enjoying the immense love of God,” he added. “So that the next generation won’t send their children to war… This is my hope.”

Despite being a predominantly non-religious country, 51% of South Koreans report no religious affiliation, but the Catholic Church in Korea has seen steady growth, particularly among young adults. According to CNA, more than 51,000 people were baptized in Korea in 2023, with 75% of them being adult converts or those in danger of death.

Fr. Isaac Severo, from Seoul’s historic Myeongdong Cathedral, shared with CNA that about 40 young adults are baptized each month at the cathedral alone.  “They go to the church and they ask, ‘How can I receive the baptism?’” he said.

Currently, Catholics make up about 11% of South Korea’s population of 52 million, with more than half of the population residing in the Seoul metropolitan area, one of the largest in the world.

Pope Leo XIV officially announced the dates for WYD 2027 during the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth on August 3 in Tor Vergata, Rome, attended by nearly one million young people.

“After this jubilee, the ‘pilgrimage of hope’ of young people continues and will take us to Asia,” Pope Leo said. “You, young pilgrims of hope, will be witnesses of this to the ends of the earth! I look forward to seeing you in Seoul: Let us continue to dream together and to hope together.”

This will be only the second World Youth Day held in Asia, the first being in Manila, Philippines, in 1995, which drew record-breaking crowds. For the Church in Korea, it is a momentous and unprecedented opportunity.

More than 1,000 young Korean Catholics traveled to Rome for the Jubilee to participate and promote WYD 2027. Among them was 22-year-old Jiyeon Maeng, who shared her excitement with CNA: “I’m really looking forward to it and looking forward to the people here to come to Korea and enjoy the festival with us,” she said. “We are telling them, ‘Come to Korea, please.’”

She called it a “big honor” that Pope Leo XIV will travel to Korea in 2027.

“It’s a big honor to Korea and a big honor to us all Koreans,” she said.  “And I think many Koreans will be waiting for him.”